Above the Norm is a cultural revolution with the goal to defeat mediocrity and complacency and encourage active striving for greatness beyond this world, a greatness that can only be found in God.

Monday, February 13, 2012

There is no such thing as peace on Earth.

It is an oxymoron.

Philosophically speaking, at least, there is no possible peace on Earth. It is only as possible as immortality. And ironically enough, it is only possible through immortality.

Let me explain:

I am not against peace on Earth. In fact, I am very much so an advocate for peace on Earth. And I support organizations and administrations that endorse peace. The world is already a place filled with chaos; can you imagine if no one tried to help it? But what is peace? And at what cost are willing to attain it?

As a Christian, I believe in an immortal soul that lives on after death in Heaven. I believe that Heaven is a state of being in which true Peace is finally attained. And I do not believe that peace on Earth is more important than Peace in Heaven.

I am so tired of hearing how many people approach a controversial topic by making arguments based on "peace." The modern world defines peace as a world in which there is no war, there is no hatred, there is no illness, there is no hunger, there is no poverty; basically, a world in which no one has to suffer.

What a terrible place to be! I would rather die than live in this world, but unfortunately, I wouldn't even be able to.

I am not saying that I would rather see war, hatred, illness, hunger, poverty, and suffering. These are tragedies of the feeble broken human condition. They are a reality. And these tragedies will always exist. And I sincerely commend those who try to fight these tragedies. It is through their efforts that the suffering in the world is diminished. But not completely destroyed; never completely destroyed.

Even worse, however, is the hypocrisy by which so many of these "peace-makers" approach their work. They tell us not to discriminate against any one different, but then they discriminate against those who don't share their beliefs. They claim that hatred is the ultimate evil, but they treat those who disagree with them with hatred.

I have known specific "peace-makers" in our own nation who have told me that they are accepting of all religions and beliefs, and yet they won't accept Christianity because the religion has objective teachings, which are against their beliefs. Quite a conundrum, but a contradiction nonetheless. Others believe in total freedom of speech, but condemn those who speak out against them.

This view is shallow. It is idealistic. I wish the world could be this way. And for a long time, I counted myself among these people. But I have learned that the world is not an idealistic one; it is broken. There is suffering and there is hatred.

But with these, there is love.

Suffering is necessary for love, and I would rather live in a world with both than a world with neither.

These same "peace-makers" will declare that I only say this because I have never tasted war, hatred, hunger, poverty. And yet I am a lower-middle class, Catholic, Arab-American. And I may not have experienced a physical war of violence, but these same "peace-makers" war with me almost every day. My society condemns me for being Catholic. My government condemns me for being pro-life.